UMass Amherst Position

UMass Amherst Position AnnouncementAssociate Professor / Professor and ChairDepartment of KinesiologySchool of Public Health and Health Sciences

The Department of Kinesiology at UMass Amherst is a nationally ranked program with a long history of leadership in the exercise and movement sciences. We seek a visionary and proactive person to guide us as we pursue our goal to become the top kinesiology program in the country.

Job Description: The Department of Kinesiology invites applications for an Associate Professor/Professor, tenure-track position. The position is for Department Chair and the preferred rank is Professor. In addition to maintaining a strong research program in their chosen area, the Chair will provide departmental leadership and vision that advances excellence in teaching and learning, research and outreach. The Chair represents and advocates for the department at the school, university and community levels. The Chair holds overall responsibility for managing the department, fostering faculty development, and working with campus and external partners on a variety of initiatives related to the departmental and School of Public Health and Health Sciences strategic goals. This position includes a 9-month contract as well as a chair stipend and summer salary.

Qualifications: Earned doctoral degree in Kinesiology or related field; evidence of international reputation for excellence and leadership in chosen research area; high level of scholarship including strong record of external funding and peer-reviewed publications commensurate with being appointed as an Associate Professor / Professor with tenure; evidence of ability to effectively administer and advocate for a complex academic unit with diverse instruction, research, and outreach programs; commitment to sustaining high-quality, innovative research and educational programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels; vision and commitment to fostering the national ranking of the UMass Amherst Department of Kinesiology.

Preferred Qualifications: Previous higher education leadership experience; record of achievement in and commitment to diversity; evidence of excellent management, communication and consensus-building skills; a research focus in human physiology, preferably in exercise metabolism or physical activity and health with applications to diabetes, obesity or other chronic diseases.

Salary: Salary and rank commensurate with qualifications

Center for Personalized Health Monitoring (CPHM): As part of a $95 million grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a new state-of-the-art research facility will house the Center for Personalized Health Monitoring. This Center, which is expected to open in the fall of 2015, will include facilities for human exercise testing and training, balance and gait analysis, magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy, wearable sensor development and testing, a sleep lab, room calorimeter, and living space for short- and long-term monitoring of study participants. It is anticipated that the new Chair will be a member of the CPHM that includes faculty from kinesiology, engineering, computer science, polymer science, public health and psychology.

About the Department: The Department of Kinesiology is ranked among the top 5 in the country in the most recent National Research Council and National Academy of Kinesiology reviews. The department is one of 4 departments in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences and includes 15 tenured or tenure-track faculty, 4 full-time lecturers, 2 part-time research faculty and several post-doctoral fellows. We have approximately 820 undergraduate majors and 50 graduate students. Our mission is to generate new knowledge and educate society, within and beyond the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as to the scientific principles that underlie the role of movement in attaining optimal human health and well-being. Three themes govern our teaching and research activities: Motor Systems, Physical Activity and Health, and Physiology. Our faculty are established and emerging leaders in their fields of research, which range from the molecular basis of movement to community health interventions. Extramural research funding comes from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and national foundations such as the American Heart Association, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the American Diabetes Association.

Application Process: Review of applications will begin September 15, 2014. Applications should be submitted by this date to ensure full consideration. Application materials required are: a cover letter describing leadership experiences, practices and philosophy and research expertise, curriculum vitae and names and contact information for three references. These materials should be submitted to: https://www.interviewexchange.com/candapply.jsp?JOBID=50697

For questions about the position, the Department or the University in general, contact Dr. Richard van Emmerik, Search Committee Chair (rvanemmerik@kin.umass.edu). Please do not send any application materials to Dr. Van Emmerik.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system, and is home to over 22,000 undergraduate and 6,300 graduate students. The 1,430 acre campus is located in the scenic Pioneer valley of western Massachusetts, 90 miles from Boston and 175 miles from New York City. UMass Amherst along with Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges, is a member of the Five College Consortium and the Academic Career network. The University of Massachusetts is strongly committed to excellence and actively supports cultural diversity.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer of women minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities and encourages applications from these and other protected group members. The University seeks to increase the diversity of its professoriate, workforce and undergraduate and graduate student populations because broad diversity is critical to achieving the University’s mission of excellence in education, research, educational access and service in an increasingly diverse globalized society. Therefore, in holistically assessing many qualifications of each applicant of any race or gender we would factor favorably an individual’s record of conduct that includes students and colleagues with broadly diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds in educational, research or other work activities. Among other qualifications, we would also factor favorably experience overcoming or helping others overcome barriers to an academic career or degree.